Sunday, July 29, 2012

From the Mother of Nick Shebek

Our son,
Nick heads to Brown: Insightful Rising Senior Returns

Junior
year at El Cerrito High for Nick seemed to require better family communication
skills than prior years; there were school and club sports practices that still
required rides; college admission tests to schedule, classes to juggle, and Ivy
League Connection deadlines to track. Things seemed to go relatively smoothly;
and we were glad when Nick was selected for Brown's macroeconomics course; an
area of study which we thought he might find to be a nice combination of
practical knowledge and mathematics, located in the heart of New England, where
Nick would love to attend college.

My
husband and I both grew up on the East Coast, and the opportunity for Nick to
become more familiar with the pace, the lifestyle and the humidity should serve
him well. The Ivy League Connection deadlines were going by quickly--we had met
with the chaperones and cohorts at a casual potluck dinner at the high school;
we had carpooled to the blogging training session, we had a moment of anxiety
when the School Board meeting might have conflicted with a post season varsity
baseball game, but all was on track as we boarded BART for our dinner at
Boulevard with Brown alumni, School Board members and ILC sponsors. Nick was
going to be speaking that evening; and was very entertaining with his
pre-dinner jitters en route to San Francisco. He did well; fit in a Boston
Celtics reference and got a smile from many of the guests, and we enjoyed a
great dinner. I sat between two recent Brown graduates; both of whom spent some
of their professional career with investment houses; my experiences as a
commodities trader when they were toddlers both dated me, and provided a bit of
a common language.

As I
learned about Brown that evening, I saw that it fostered creativity and a
strong sense of community. Soon after the dinner there were finals and SAT
subject tests; quick double checks of the items needed list, and before we knew
it, Nick was on his way.

The
college visits had a huge impact; Nick was impressed with Yale, intrigued by
Dartmouth, and thought Wesleyan might be a good fit for his younger sister when
the time came. The opportunities to mingle with recent alumni and admissions
staff further rounded his impressions of the schools. I think it's fair to say
that Nick was blown away by MIT; besides its well-earned reputation as a top
engineering school, Nick was glad its students were well rounded; that its
humanities offerings were stellar as well. Meeting with alumni, Nick enjoyed
their sense of humor, and glad to learn that majors weren't declared until
sophomore year. On top of all of that, it is in Boston, home of the Celtics and
the Red Sox; Nick is descended from a long line of New England sports fans. The
one issue is that it is nearly impossible to be accepted, but at this time,
Nick wants to apply.

On his
return home, he set up his "mymit" account, read through the college
materials that had accumulated in his absence, and seemed to be more focused
and reflective. Nick enjoyed the macroeconomics course; it made him realize
that if doesn't find his passion in engineering, there are other areas that
will interest him. The pace of the class was challenging and in retrospect, he
realized that Mr. Coleman had covered an enormous amount of material in just
over two weeks. At the dinner at Mistral I suspect he already knew this was
getting to be the end of a wonderful journey, and he enjoyed interacting with
his cohorts as well as Brown II students and the alumni from the local
prestigious schools visited by the various Brown groups. There was such a
change in our son; he called more frequently than on other trips wanting to
share insights he had learned about himself; joke with his sister about blog
titles, advising her on the 'errors' of his high school career, encouraging to
stretch herself in many directions.

For me,
I've realized that there is now a whole new network of folks that I wouldn't
have met except for the Ivy League Connection; I've made "linkedin"
connections with young traders in the investment arena from Brown; I realized
that when I reached out to an attorney in Hercules for a district-wide parcel
tax measure initiative that he may have known Terilyn Chen as a mock trial
attorney coach. Sure enough he did; Terilyn heads off to Harvard, he shared, a
fact that was known to the other parents at the School Board meeting where
Terilyn shared her Harvard interview experiences with the new ILC students.

The Ivy
League Connection can be about more than opening WCCUSD students' eyes to the
opportunities across the country; it can be about making connections locally.
Coming from the East Coast thirty years ago, we had been envious of students
who could study at the UCs for a fraction of the price. We had looked forward
to taking advantage of California's university system for our own children, and
frankly hadn't thought much of sending our children to the East Coast before the
Ivy League connection reminded us that things change; and that now, WCCUSD
students can stand out as talented contributors to a college campus in the Ivy
League. I really believe that Nick's experience with the ILC has put him in a
position where he will make an informed, intelligent and socially aware
decision about where he is most likely to succeed in college.

We are so
grateful for the ILC sponsors and team with the vision to keep all doors open
for our WCCUSD students.

About Us

The goal of The Ivy League Connection is to expand the college going culture in the West Contra Costa Unified School District by providing the students of the WCCUSD with the opportunity to participate in summer enrichment programs hosted by highly selective universities.

This effort emphasizes students’ readiness and highlights that teachers have and will continue to produce outstanding students ready to participate in the rigorous programs offered each summer by the Ivy League.

Upon their return from these programs, our students are encouraged to become campus leaders and promote increased awareness of academic opportunities. By becoming campus leaders, they will also instill the value of giving service and encourage the local community to become stronger partners with our schools.

The Ivy League Connection is all about giving back.

The WCCUSD is a diverse, urban school district which has managed to survive through incredible financial adversity (including bankruptcy) for the past two decades. Despite a myriad of obstacles, students have persevered and been resilient in staying focused and not making excuses relating to student achievement. Nonetheless, a great majority of students have not had exposure to the thousands of colleges that exist. The Ivy League Connection is a metaphor for establishing that connection and opening gateways to ensure that more students are conscious about becoming part of a college-going culture.

This endeavor creates an institution with an innovative approach and provides a model for school board members to utilize regarding how to deploy District resources to underwrite student participation in summer enrichment and leadership programs on college campuses. The goal is to significantly boost scholarship in our District by introducing the concept and awareness that outstanding students of talent and high potential will benefit from participating in stimulating summer enrichment programs and that others will also profit when they share their experiences with them upon their return.